A fellow classmate, Hayley Moeller, delved deep into Pantene’s brand marketing and the true culprit behind the success — CSR — in a recent blog post. She mentioned how consumers are beginning to see through the thin veil of “CSR-based marketing stunts and move towards companies with CSR engrained in their business model.” I disagree with her standpoint. I believe Pantene is not just utilizing the altruism of consumers as a marketing scheme; there’s more to it behind the scenes.
Pantene must try to cover all three bases to achieve true CSR
Pantene currently has a perfect short-run based marketing strategy to improve their social image and economic return. However, to be fully sustainable and have a competitive advantage, all three criteria of the Triple Bottom Line must be met. In an online article, Pantene (under P&G), is now producing shampoo bottles created out of sugar cane for recyclability. This showcases that they are aware of the environment and are looking for ways to alter their environmental footprint whilst boosting their social image and profit margins. As a consumer, I feel that Pantene needs to emphasize the importance of their Breast Cancer awareness campaign by doing more than just labelling a shampoo bottle. It would help me understand the scope of Pantene’s progression towards a more sustainable business model and reel me in as a consumer. It would help me realize there’s more to it than just a marketing ploy. It would help me help Pantene grow their business.
